Hope, concern and curiosity

There is a recognition that the natural allies may not always agree but the US will support India's rise.

"India is back", declared an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal after it became clear that Indian voters had given the Narendra Modi-led BJP a Lok Sabha majority. It was reminiscent of the headlines in the heady days of "Incredible India" and China-India comparisons during the latter half of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and the first term of the Manmohan Singh one. Since the results were declared, there has been some discussion in the US about Modi, the government that will take shape and what kind of India that government will lead. Much like in India, that discussion-in official, business, think tank and media circles-has involved a mix of curiosity, hope and concern.

In April, comedian John Oliver chided American media for not covering the Indian elections enough. Yet there has been more media interest than ever before, with editorials and articles in American newspapers and segments on news-and comedy-shows. The scale of the election, the big personalities involved, especially Modi, the American-style election campaign, the easier availability of information, the larger number of American correspondents in India and social media combined to ensure greater coverage. This spiked when the results emerged, with the unexpected size of the BJP victory especially garnering attention.

The dominant sentiment in the media has been one of curiosity about Prime Minister Modi. He has been much-discussed, but little is known about him. There are questions not just about whether Modi can deliver on his promises of good growth and governance, but also about what kind of prime minister he will be: For example, realistic reformer or ultranationalist strongman, tolerant or intolerant, US-sceptic or pragmatic US partner?

The sentiment among the business community is largely one of optimism. This has been buoyed by the BJP majority, with hope that the new Government will be a stable one that can provide certainty in terms of policy direction. There is hope that there will be a better business climate and that the Government will tackle economic reforms that will, in turn, kick-start the Indian economy. There is also a sense that even if government-government relations might not be as warm, Modi won't hold that against American companies.

However, there is also concern that the Government might not meet expectations. There are questions about whether Modi can be as effective on the economic reform front at the Centre as he was in Gujarat, whether some political and bureaucratic obstacles will prove insurmountable, and whether Indian potential can be translated into performance. The business community has followed the recent Cabinet formation closely, and will also watch for policy signals in initial steps and the forthcoming Budget.

These are also the reasons for hope and concern in American officialdom. The U.S. government would like to see the "strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community" that Mr. Modi has promised. The administration has repeatedly asserted that even if India and the U.S. will not always agree, the U.S. supportsIndia's rise because it is in American interest - a sentiment that finds support across party lines.

There, however, remain questions and concerns about the impact of the limited official American engagement with Modi when he was chief minister. President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice moved to state publicly that the US is looking forward to working with the new Government to continue to build a strong partnership between the two democracies. Administration officials and external analysts have viewed positively the initial signals from Modi towards the US-as well as his recent invocation of the phrase "natural allies" and his assertion that the bilateral relationship was important for both countries. The US will also not mind the development of better Indian relations with a number of its allies and a more substantive Look East policy. It has also seen the invitations to the swearing-in ceremony to South Asian leaders, especially the Pakistan prime minister, as a good sign.

Yet there continue to be some in the administration and in the US Congress who have concerns about Modi's track record on communal issues-a fact that should neither be ignored nor exaggerated. Modi's detractors will continue to be active on Capitol Hill, yet the level of support they are able to garner seems to have declined.

There are also broader concerns about inflated expectations. A few commentators have drawn the comparison to the high hopes, the yes-we-can attitude, as well as the expectation for change that accompanied President Obama's election in 2008--and the sense that they have not been fulfilled. Nonetheless, there is hope that the Modi Government can deliver the economic objectives, good governance, stability and inclusiveness for which Modi says it has a mandate--and that India will indeed be back. This hope offers the Modi government an opportunity: if it engages with the U.S. federal and state governments, as well as the private sector, they can help the government meet these expectations and other objectives. And if these expectations are met, it will elevate the image, importance and influence of India-not just in the U.S., but globally.

Tanvi Madan is a fellow in the Foreign Policy programme and the director of The India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC